A 有 (的) B
Reach for this when A has B, or B exists somewhere/within A — 'America has a president,' 'Iran has a lot of oil,' 'our company has a new policy.' 有 covers both possession ('I have a car') and existence ('there are five people'). It's one of the most-used verbs in Chinese precisely because English splits this meaning across 'have,' 'there is,' and 'exists.'
Structure
[A] 有 [B]
yǒu
How to Think About It
有 has ONE negation: 没. The instinct from English to say 不有 is wrong — 不 doesn't combine with 有, ever. Only 没 (or 没有 with an object) negates it. This is the single exception to the rule that 不 negates verbs, and learners trip on it for years if they don't internalize it early.
Examples
美国有一个总统叫特朗普。
Měiguó yǒu yī gè zǒngtǒng jiào Tèlǎngpǔ.
America has a president named Trump.
我家有三口人。
Wǒ jiā yǒu sān kǒu rén.
My family has three people.
今天有很多人来。
Jīntiān yǒu hěn duō rén lái.
There are a lot of people coming today.
Common Mistake
Learners negate 有 with 不 by analogy with other verbs. The negation of 有 is always 没 or 没有 — 不有 is not a valid Chinese phrase.
我不有钱。
我没有钱。
Don't Confuse With
是 + Noun
Use 是 to identify (A is B); use 有 to possess or assert existence (A has B / there is B).
在 + Place
在 says A is AT a place (known A, location unknown); 有 introduces something new at a location (known place, A unknown): 桌子上有一本书.
没 + Verb
没 negates 有 AND past actions (没去 = didn't go). For non-past negation of other verbs, use 不.
Practice
我_____ 一辆车。 (have)
Show answer
有
他_____ 时间, 不能去。 (no)
Show answer
没有 (or 没)
Arrange: 有 / 弟弟 / 一个 / 我 / 妹妹 / 一个 / 和
Show answer
我有一个弟弟和一个妹妹。
Translate: This city has many famous restaurants.
Show answer
这个城市有很多有名的饭馆。
Write a sentence about something your country has.
Show answer
我们国家有很多漂亮的山。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: